Our understanding of fluoride and dental health began in Colorado Springs in 1901 when a visiting dentist first noticed ugly dark stains on the tooth enamel of locally born children, at the time called the Colorado Brown Stain.

Two decades later, researchers solved the mystery: Colorado Springs tap water contained naturally high levels of the mineral fluoride.

Administered at the correct dosage, fluoride is generally accepted as a safe method of preventing tooth decay, rendering the developing teeth of infants and children permanently more resistant to acid attack. However, higher than optimal levels of fluoride causes discoloration and pitting of the surface enamel — a condition now known as “fluorosis.”

In 1945 Grand Rapids, Mich., became the first city in the world to artificially fluoridate public tap water. The practice remains controversial today.

In late 2006, the National Research Council (NRC) released a report, “Fluoride in Drinking Water: A Scientific Review of EPA’s Standards,” indicating that fluoride ingestion plays a more important role in the development of fluorosis than was previously thought.

According to the federal Centers for Disease Control (CDC), “It now appears that the amount of the fluoride contained in water used for mixing infant formula may influence a child’s risk for developing enamel fluorosis.”

The CDC concedes that 32 percent of 6- to 19-year-olds in the U.S. now exhibit mild or greater tooth enamel fluorosis.

Fluoride is a highly toxic substance. Therefore, enamel fluorosis could be considered an early warning sign of more advanced fluoride poisoning, or a crippling bone disease known as skeletal fluorosis.

The American Dental Association (ADA) now advises that infants through the first year should consume fluoride-free water, concluding that “more research is needed before definitive recommendations can be made on fluoride intake by bottle-fed infants.”

Furthermore, studies indicate fluoride may cross the uterus to the developing fetus.

Various factors contribute to fluorosis in infants and children. First, this subpopulation is more vulnerable to toxins, such as pesticides. Data from the Environmental Protection Agency show that infants drink more water per pound of body weight than adults.

The EPA also uses average adult weight as a starting point for determining maximum safe levels of fluoride. The allowable safe level of fluoride in tap water is higher than optimal target concentrations (doses that water plant operators “aim” for). Spikes of fluoride above the optimal target levels in public tap water do occur, as a result of unpredictable water plant treatment processes.

Specifically concerning for Colorado residents, a community’s average high temperature determines the target tap water fluoride concentration, assuming that people in warmer climates drink more water than in colder climates. The target dose for Dallas is close to 30 percent lower than Vail, for example.

Colorado, however, is a relatively dry climate, with the highest mean altitude of the 50 states, two factors contributing significantly to dehydration.

As it stands, infants swallowing fluoridated tap water in Colorado are, in some cases, receiving higher dosages than adults in warmer areas.

Furthermore, the Safe Drinking Water Act does not mandate artificial fluoridation. Therefore, up-to-date blanket public policy is not accessible. In Colorado, about 75 community water systems fluoridate tap water, reaching more than 70 percent of the state’s population. A pregnant woman in Frisco — a non-fluoridated community — might relocate only a few miles to Breckenridge, a fluoridated municipality, without realizing she should inform her physician of the change in residence.

The CDC acknowledges that re-evaluation of temperature-related guidelines (based on studies performed during the 1950s) is now required. However, at this time, Colorado health officials are not considering lowering fluoride target doses to more cautious levels currently observed by warmer weather states.

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Touch not that statue of Robert E. Lee in Charlottesville. Let it stand, but around it place plaques telling the curious that the man was a traitor to his country who went to war so white people could continue to own black people.